Whaler's Blubber Fork

Once a whale was killed and its blubber was cut up and hauled aboard the ship for processing, the chunks of flesh were moved around the slippery vessel with long-handled, two-tined blubber forks. These forks were used to pitch the pieces of minced blubber into the hot try-pots to boil it down into oil. The long handles prevented sore backs from too much bending over and protected the men from getting too close to the boiling oil.

ID Number:

AG*055818

Material:

metal, iron, wood

Date:

mid-1800s

Dimensions:

38 x 2.3622 x 1.4173 in.; 60 x 36 mm

Source:

Mackey & Pindar